Colombia's Cementos Argos approves bond issue of up to $493 mln

Redacción de Reuters

2 MIN. DE LECTURA

BOGOTA, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The board of Colombia’s Cementos Argos has authorized a bond issue of up to 1 trillion pesos ($493 million), proceeds from which will be used for working capital and debt payments, the company said in a statement over the weekend.

Cementos Argos, the country’s largest cement and concrete maker, will have three years to issue the paper, although typically bonds are released within a few months of the board’s approval.

The company, a subsidiary of Grupo Argos, raised 1 trillion pesos with two bond issues during 2012.

“The resources from the issues will be destined 100 percent to debt payments and working capital,” Cementos Argos said in a statement to Colombia’s financial regulator over the weekend.

Cementos Argos bonds are some of the most popular on the Colombian market and the money raised has helped the company fund expansion plans in Latin America and the United States.

The company said in August that it was considering buying Holcim and Lafarge’s Latin American assets, especially those in Brazil and Mexico.

In September Cementos Argos announced the construction of a $450 million plant in central Colombia and in January the company purchased the assets of Vulcan Materials in the United States for $720 million.